


Hush Little Baby (Don't You Cry)

by BalancingOnBreakingBranches



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark is Good With Kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:08:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27038464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BalancingOnBreakingBranches/pseuds/BalancingOnBreakingBranches
Summary: Peter Parker has trouble sleeping. Tony Stark is always there to help.
Relationships: Friday & Karen (Spider-Man: Homecoming) & Peter Parker & Tony Stark, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 1
Kudos: 57





	Hush Little Baby (Don't You Cry)

It had been four days since the last time Peter woke up from a nightmare. The worst part was that his nightmares were not recurring. He could never anticipate what would happen when he closed his eyes and rested his head on the pillow. He couldn't save himself from them because he never woke up screaming or he never thrashed in the bed no matter how much he was hurting. No matter how bad the nightmares were. He just had to wait till it was over or till someone woke him up. And Peter was tired of it. He didn't want to go through that anymore. It had been four days since Peter woke up from a nightmare because Peter had been _awake_ the last four days. He hadn't slept. Not even a wink. And he was done. The precision with which he had hid his dark circles was out of this world. He knew the amount of coffee he had consumed in the last 72 hours would put Mr. Stark to shame. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he had no other option. He didn't want to talk to anyone about it because he never remembered all of his dreams. The good or the bad. So, there was no point in discussing it if he couldn't even tell what exactly happened in them.  
It was Friday and Peter was sitting on a stool in Tony's lab. It had been an hour since he got here and he had almost ignored 4 of Tony's regular questions. His body was screaming for sleep but his mind was not allowing him to even think about it. He couldn't find any coffee in the lab so he settled on the next best thing. Snapping a rubber band on his wrist hoping the pain would keep him awake. It was his 10th snap and it was working so far when suddenly his wrist was covered by another hand. He got startled and almost fell off of the stool just in time for the hand to grab him. It was Tony and he did not look happy. "What's going on, kid? I called your name like 3 times", he said a finger on Peter's chin, lifting his face to look at him. Peter's eyes looked teary but for the first time that was not what had captured Tony's attention. It was what he saw under the kid's eyes, "Is that make up, Peter? Have you applied concealer under your eyes? Are you hiding an injury? A black eye that you don't want to tell me about?" Hearing that Peter started crying. That was the last straw and apparently his body had decided that enough was enough. He didn't even realize when he started sobbing and pulled Tony in his arms. He was too far gone to be embarrassed. "Hey, kid. Talk to me. What's going on? Are you hurt?" Tony asked, his fingers in the kid's hair, gently massaging the scalp. Peter whimpered. It felt good. "Peter. Did anyone hit you, kid?" He just continued crying. "Come on, Pete. How can I help you if you don't tell me what's wrong?" Tony was really worried. Peter never cried. At least not until he was shaking uncontrollably and was unable to breathe.  
Tony started rubbing his back and his arms. He couldn't bear this anymore. The kid, his kid, was in pain and Tony couldn't do anything about it. "Peter please talk to me kid. You are killing me. Please tell me what's going on and I promise I'll help you fix it, Pete. Just talk to me. Please!" Peter looked up at his mentor's face. His heart broke to see him worry so much, but he just couldn't stop crying. The dams were broken and he didn't know how to stop the flow. He was helpless. "Peter. Please try to breathe and tell me what is going on with you. I am begging you, kid." Peter held Tony's shirt in his fist and tried to breathe. After noticing that Tony was setting the pace, he tried to match their breathing and felt the air finally reach his lungs. Tony lifted his hands and put them on Peter's face to wipe away the tears and Peter knew he was going to wipe the concealer too. Tony hesitated before putting his thumbs under Peter's eyes, expecting the kid to stop him. But when he met no resistance, he slowly wiped away the tears and felt the concealer come off too. What he saw was enough to break his heart all over again. Big purple eye bags were staring at Tony and he knew what was going on in an instant. Peter kept his eyes on the floor and a new round of tears was already waiting to be spilled. Tony lifted his face and looked him in the eyes. "What was the last time you slept, Peter? And please don't lie to me." "Four days ago", Peter mumbled. Tony drew in a sharp breath. The kid hadn't slept in 4 days. Three days without sleeping was Tony's record and the 15 year old kid had broken it. "Why?" Tony whispered. " _ **I don't sleep. My mind has the scary** **capability of being dark and demented**_ ". Peter said. Tony was taken aback. He knew the challenges that came with being a superhero. He himself had had his fair share of sleepless nights due to bad dreams, but he did not expect that from the kid. And that made him angry at himself. "You are afraid of your dreams?" he asked, but he already knew the answer. "Yes". Peter said quietly. "Peter", Tony gasped. "How long has this been going on, kid?" "For as long as I remember. But I never thought of not sleeping before. I mean I tried, but before the bite, the maximum amount of time I could go without sleeping was one whole night. But now? Now I can easily do three. This is the first time I have made it till four though and not thrown up. It's an achievement, Mr. Stark." Peter tried to joke. Tony didn't know if his heart could take this anymore. "Oh kid. This is not something you can joke about, Peter. Now, you are coming with me and we are going to try something. Do you trust me, Pete?" "You know I do, Mr. Stark", Peter said, already getting up from his stool. With his arm around Peter's shoulders, Tony led him to the elevator.  
"Take us to the penthouse, FRI", he said. "Right away, boss". And up they went. Peter had decided to do whatever Mr. Stark would tell him to do. He didn't have the energy to fight sleep anymore, nightmares be damned. The elevator stopped and the pair started walking towards Peter's bedroom. "Lights at 25%, FRIDAY." Tony ordered as they entered the room. "Put on your pajamas, kid. We are going to get some sleep. Both of us." Doing as told, Peter got under the covers and was immediately followed by Tony. Peter curled up at his mentor's side and prayed for a dreamless night. The sound of Tony's breathing and his hands in his hair lulled Peter to sleep.   
When he woke up in the morning cradled in his mentor's arms, Peter realized that for the first time in 15 years, his prayers had been answered.


End file.
